Without a doubt, one of the greatest mysteries inRed Dead Redemptionis theidentity of the Strange Man. He appears in a few missions for John in the first game and has a minor presence in the second, but whether he is another man, a symbol of John’s morality, the grim reaper, a manifestation of death, God, and/or a Christ figure is hard to pinpoint. To make matters even more confusing, the Strange Man practically has a twin inRed Dead Redemption 2—Josiah Trelawny.
Rockstar Games has since confirmed that Josiah is not the Strange Man, but of course, there is some connection there. Appearance-wise, they look nearly identical and one could have, at the time, easily been the other inRed Dead Redemption 2. Thus, the question becomes why does Josiah Trelawny look like the Strange Man?
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First, it’s worth mentioning what is known about the Strange Man. He first appears to John, giving him some missions based on morality and/or the Ten Commandments (a cheating man and a nun, with murder, adultery, theft, and more coming into play)—meanwhile, the Strange Man doesn’t put much into his own identity stating that he had forgotten his own name. He also refers to himself as an accountant, and obviously not someone who keeps financial accounts—but someone who must take accounts, perhaps here of a person’s sins. Since he says thiswhere Abigail and Jack bury John Marston, which he labels as a fine spot, it’s easy to see the religious connections inRed Dead Redemptionhere.
John also, here, fires three shots at The Strange Man before his gun jams on the fourth. This could representJack Marston being sparedinRed Dead Redemption(following the death of John, Uncle, and Abigail), the Holy Spirit (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), or the repentance of Peter who denied Christ three times and wept when he heard the Crow (the fourth).
In all of this, the Strange Man is aloof and indirect. He has important relationships outside John, seen in his hut, towns, and evenSister Calderon inRed Dead Redemption 2. Yet, he walks a fine line between being helpful and antagonistic, being seemingly designed for John and not.
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While they may be similar in appearance, the similarities in personality are less obvious. Josiah doesn’t really have a lot of religious connotation to him, nor is his mysterious ways all that mysterious. He’s someone torn between family life and a life of an outlaw with theDutch Van Der Linde gang, trying to balance them both while disappearing on both at several points. He is aloof and indirect, and putting everything else aside, that’s their main connection.
Indeed, Josiah Trelawny is very much based on a classic western archetype of the conman—magic, confidence tricks, persuasive elements, double lives, scam and heist-like artistry, information, and more all embody this character. This is why he dresses up and does a lot of the things he does, perfecting thischaracter archetype inRed Dead Redemption 2. Yet, what’s important to note is that the conman is often understood as a variant of the Tricker character archetype, which is why his horse Gwydion is named after a Welsh Trickster God and why he seems so connected to The Strange Man. One essentially embodies the ambiguity of man, communication, and civilization, while the other embodies the ambiguities of the divine, of chaos, and of life and death.
The Strange Man isRed Dead Redemption’s Loki, the Trickster. He disobeys all rules and laws of the western world and Red Dead universe, and meets many of the requirements of the Trickster archetype: he is a chameleon in nature, blending in but clearly not belonging; he is clearly supernatural, in what he knows and how his in-game elements come into the game; he outlines paths, such as how he does with the Ten Commandment quests with John; he speaks persuasively, knowingly, and almost as if he wants chaos; and, ultimately, he is unpredictable.
The appearance ties back to many of these traits: the nature of the two character archetypes, the chameleon aspects (even more so since they appear so similarly), their approach to life, their persuasive natures, and so on. Josiah Trelawny is notRed Dead Redemption’s Strange Man, but they share roots in character design and archetype. As such, the appearance-level connection of the two goes to show how these archetypes pair and how they function similarly inRed Dead’s story—enigmatic, persuasive, and loveable characters who invite a sense of death and hope, love and hate, and redemption.
Red Dead Redemption 2is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
